


His Boys, Her Girls

by aussiebabe290



Category: Pitch Perfect (Movies)
Genre: F/M, Family, Friendship, Love, Romance
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2015-09-05
Updated: 2015-09-14
Packaged: 2018-04-19 03:49:11
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 5
Words: 6,453
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/4731809
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/aussiebabe290/pseuds/aussiebabe290
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>He was looking for love after losing his best friend and the mother of his boys. After being hurt by the father of her girls, she didn't believe in love. Love at first sight? Perhaps. True love? Maybe. Happy families? Not likely. Meddling friends? Absolutely.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Chapter One

"You are my sunshine, my only sunshine!" Jesse Swanson sang loudly and with perfect pitch, as he marched into his eldest son's bedroom. Tugging the blinds open and ripping the blankets off his son's sleeping form, he got louder. "You make me happy, when skies are grey!"

"Go away", eight year old Ben mumbled, shoving his head under his pillow.

"Come on, up and at 'em! It's a beautiful day outside! Dean and Brody are already up!"

Morning was Jesse's favourite part of the day- and he shared that with his younger sons, six year old Dean and four year old Brody. But eight year old Ben didn't seem to understand the greatness that was mornings.

(At least all three boys loved movies as much as he did. he was pretty sure that if one of his children told him they didn't like movies, a part of him would shrivel up and die inside.)

"What are we doing?" Ben moaned, waiting for the incentive to crawl out of his bed and face the day.

"I don't know! That's the beauty of it!" and Jesse grabbed him around the waist, carrying him out of his bedroom upside down, ready to face the day.

\----------------------------------------------

"You'll never know dear, how much I love you!" Beca Mitchell sang at the top of her lungs, as she moved down the hallway into her seven year old daughter's room. "So please don't take my sunshine away! Rosie, get up".

"No".

Beca knew where her eldest was coming from, she really did. Beca hated the mornings. She would love to sleep in until noon, but then she had given birth to Rosie, who, for the first two years of her life, had woken up before five a.m. this did not make Beca a morning person, but after bringing Natalie and Courtney into the world, she felt she had no choice but to get up at a stupid hour that God should never have invented.

"Come on, Aunt Chloe and Uncle Michael are coming", Beca said temptingly. "And Aunt Chloe promised we'd go and meet Fat Amy at the ice cream parlour".

"Which one?"

"The only one we go to". Beca tugged her blankets away, chuckling at the way that Rosie pawed the air, looking for her stolen covers (so reminiscent of her younger days. Her college days, actually, where her father would barge into her dorm and demand to know why she wasn't in her intro to philosophy class). "Get up. Natalie and Courtney are already up".

"Of course they are". Rosie buried her head in her pillow.

Five year old Natalie and three year old Courtney had unfortunately never grown out of their 'up before the rooster' habits, as their beloved godmother Chloe had pointed out. Beca had glared at the redhead, before sighing and admitting how true it was. Finding her sweet three year old's face inches away from her own before the sun was up was not the way Beca liked to wake up.

"Up!" and Beca grabbed Rosie around the waist, hauling the seven year off the bed, as she hollered in protest.

\-------------------------------

Jesse glanced around the kitchen table, as his boys packed away the chocolate chip pancakes like they had never eaten before.

"Dean!" he said suddenly. "Dude, you've gotta chew".

"I am!" Dean protested with his mouth full, and Jesse shook his head in amusement.

He had never pictured his life to turn out the way it had. He was all about the American dream- the wife, the kids, the white picket fence, scoring the soundtrack for award winning movies. He had the kids and he had the job, but the wife and white picket fence?

No.

He had met Katherine on his twentieth birthday, and had fallen head over heels in love. They had gotten engaged six short months later (because she had fallen just as hard as he had), and a year later, Benjamin was born. Two and four years later, respectively, they welcomed Dean and Brody into the world, settling into life as a five person family.

But that was all taken away from them when Brody was four month old, when Katherine was killed in a head on collision. Jesse's heart had shattered- he had lost his wife and his best friend, and his boys had lost their mother.

Jesse had fallen hard and fast in love with Katherine, channelling his inner romantic that would rival a John Hughes eighties movie (and Jesse knew them all). But all that had been ripped from him in a matter of seconds.

Jesse Swanson was a romantic. He had spent his high school life wooing the girls with his killer pipes and romantic gestures (because he had seen the films and knew what girls liked), but after Katherine, Jesse didn't know what to do. He wanted to be able to share his life with someone else, but was scared. Because not only would he be sharing his life, he'd be sharing his boys' lives.

And he didn't want his boys to get hurt.

\------------------------------------

Beca glanced around the kitchen table, as Courtney stirred her cereal around in her bowl.

"Courtney, just eat it, please", she said gently, taking a bite out of her toast.

Beca Mitchell had never imagined herself as a mother. If she was completely honest, she had never seen herself settling down, because of the childhood she had had. Her parents had fought and fought and fought, before her father walked out on her and her mother, remarrying and settling into what he saw as the perfect life. So when Beca met Luke when she was in college, she tried her hardest to downplay and ignore her feelings.

But it was too much, and she eventually caved, giving into the feelings she had been repressing.

They had gotten engaged, but in Beca's first year out of college, when she found herself pregnant. She was downright terrified, but once Rose was in the world, she knew that everything was right. Two years after Rosie, Beca and Luke welcomed Natalie into their little family and two years after that Courtney made their family one of five.

But it wasn't smooth sailing- Beca had caught Luke cheating on her, when Courtney was three months old. And as the couple screamed well into the night, it came to light that it wasn't the first time, and Luke had been sleeping with the other woman regularly since before Natalie was born.

So Beca threw her engagement ring at his head and demanded that he get the hell out of her house, never wanting to see him again. And she hadn't.

She was adamant that she wasn't going to let herself get hurt again- she had truly thought she could trust Luke, but she was under the impression that all men were the same. Perhaps she was scared (although Beca Mitchell would never admit to being scared), but she didn't want to get hurt again.

And she definitely didn't want her girls to get hurt.


	2. Chapter Two

"You need to get out, Bec", Chloe Beale told her best friend bluntly, as she licked her spoon of ice cream. "Seriously. I'll babysit; you go out and enjoy yourself".

"No, Chlo-"

"When was the last time you went out? When was the last time you went somewhere where you could just have a drink and sit back and relax and let yourself unwind?" the redhead eyed her suspiciously, and Beca sighed heavily, admitting defeat.

"Um… probably when my mum was here for Courtney's first birthday".

"Courtney's three, Beca. She turned three in April".

"I know, Chloe".

The redhead continued to stare at her accusingly,

"You aren't going to give up on this, are you?"

Chloe shook her head, grinning. And when Beca looked unconvinced, she turned to the most convincing person she knew. "Hey Rosie posie, we always have fun when I come over, don't we?"

"Yeah!" Rosie enthused, licking her spoon free of ice cream. "When are you next coming over, Aunt Chloe?"

"Today?" Courtney's eyes sparkled, and Beca rolled her eyes.

"Please?" Natalie added.

"It's unanimous, Bec. The girls and I will sit back and watch a movie- don't give me that look, they love Disney and you know it- and you'll go out and have a good time and call Aubrey to pick you up when you want to come home". Chloe crossed her arms stubbornly and Beca frowned.

"Fine", she finally relented. "Three conditions".

"Name 'em".

"You do not bring around a new DVD for the girls; they're too spoilt as it is".

"Fine…" Chloe pouted, and Beca knew that she would completely ignore her and bring over a brand new film to add to their ever growing DVD collection (for a girl who hated movies, Beca Mitchell owned an awfully large collection).

"Secondly, you do not invite everyone over, because then it turns into a party and I'm trying to get them back into a routine for when school starts in two weeks".

"Got it".

(On the odd occasion that Beca did go out, she would leave specific instructions with Chloe to make sure they were in bed when she got home, and every time she would find all four of them passed out on the lounge, dead asleep.)

"What's the third one?" Chloe asked carefully.

"That you stop harassing me about my love life".

"Lack of a love life", Chloe corrected, and Beca frowned. "I mean, when was the last time you had-"

"Chloe!"

"What?"

"You sound like Stacie, stop it".

"I'm worried about you, Bec!"

"There's no need to be", she said, almost exasperatedly.

"Mummy!" Natalie bounced on her seat, grinning with a chocolate rim around her mouth. "Look, there's Aunt Aubrey and Uncle Michael!"

Rosie leapt up from her seat, running towards the door to greet them. Michael lifted her into his arms, squeezing her tight.

"Hey Rosie posie!" he said warmly, grinning at her.

"Hey Uncle Michael! Hey Aunt Aubrey!" Natalie waved, and Courtney tossed her arms around Aubrey, and the four of them made their way to the booth in the back.

Michael tugged on Beca's ponytail and she frowned at him. "Hey there little sister, how are ya? How are my favourite nieces treating you?"

(As far as Beca was concerned, Michael was the only good thing that came out of her father's marriage to the stepmonster. While they had acted like they didn't get along when they were around Beca's father and Michael's mother, they had broken their façade shortly into the act. Michael called Beca his baby sister, and had taken every ounce of his strength not to pummel Luke into the ground after he found out what happened. What Beca couldn't understand, however, was how he could marry someone like Aubrey Posen.)

"Good", Natalie told him with a grin, climbing into his lap. "We're always good, Uncle Michael".

"I don't think so", Beca said with a grin, her eyes twinkling at her middle child.

"How did earspike get three angels?" Aubrey demanded, grinning playfully at the tiny brunette. Beca glared back, resenting the nickname that Aubrey had given her whilst they were in college (although despite how much she hated the nickname, it hadn't stopped her piercings or tattoos).

"She's always good", Chloe defended, wrapping an arm around Courtney and kissing the top of her head. "You're always good, aren't you Courty?"

She nodded, giggling.

Beca just laughed, resting her head on Rosie's shoulder, and Michael reached over to squeeze her hand.

\-------------------------------

"You need to get out, man", Donald told Jesse, as he smeared sunscreen over his nose for the fourth time within the hour. "Seriously. When was the last time you had sex?"

Jesse glared, watching as little Brody splashed around in the knee deep water. "I don't feel comfortable having this conversation with you".

Donald frowned. "I'm just saying, leave those kids with me and Benji and you go out. Get yourself a date or something, you need to get out".

"It's fine, Donald".

"Uncle Benji!" Dean hollered, running towards the pool gate, flinging water everywhere. Jesse spun around to see his best friend and college roommate (and Ben's namesake) strolling towards them, Dean having launched himself into his arm. Dean dangled from one arm, grinning. "Daddy, look! Uncle Benji's here!"

"Benji!" Donald called. "Whassup man? Can you tell Jesse that he needs to get out?"

"You totally do", Benji agreed, and Jesse glared.

"Thank you for agreeing". Jesse frowned and Dean chuckled.

"Uncle Benji!" Ben hollered to his namesake. "Come on! Come swimming! Daddy said you promised!"

"I did! I'm coming!" Benji called enthusiastically. "Yeah, Jess, you need to get out". He dropped Dean to his feet, pushing him towards the pool. "Give me a second, alright Dean?"

"'Kay!"

"Jesse, you've got to get out", Benji said, dropping his things beside the boy. "I'll look after the kids if you'd like, you go out and have a good night".

"Three conditions", Jesse said after a moment, and Donald high fived him in victory.

"Name them", Benji said confidently.

"One. You don't tell Ben, Brody and Dean any more Bumper stories from college, I'm tired of being questioned by Ben".

"Done". Donald nodded.

"Two. They actually get into bed, when I leave them with you, because I'm a bit tired of hauling them up the stairs because you've let them fallen asleep on the floor or something".

"You're like an old man", Donald commented, and Jesse smacked his shoulder.

"What's third?" Benji asked warily.

"Thirdly, you get the hell of my back about dating".

"Done. Name the day and I'll watch the boys". Benji grinned, high fiving Donald. Jesse rolled his eyes, before lifting himself off the grass to join his three boys in the pool.

"You're impossible".


	3. Chapter 3

"Hey girls!" Chloe said brightly, as Beca opened the door for her.

"Aunt Chloe's here!" Beca called, stepping aside for the thunder of footsteps. Tiny Courtney led the way, as she threw her arms around the redhead.

"Aunt Chloe!" she squealed.

Chloe lifted her into the air, wrapping her free arm around Natalie and Rosie at the same time. "There's my favourite nieces!" she said warmly, kissing Courtney's cheek before leaning down to press kisses to the tops of Rosie and Natalie's heads. "Ready for tonight?"

"We're ready!" Rosie giggled, tugging Chloe into the lounge room.

"Okay, they had Chinese food for dinner- did you eat, Chlo? There's leftovers in the fridge, regardless. There's ice cream in the freezer, they can have ice cream or popcorn, not both", she said warningly, shooting a look at Natalie (who had the ability to talk her aunt into everything). "Yes, Nat, I'm looking at you. Um, I don't really mind what you do- don't get any ideas, Rosie Ryerson- as long as the three of them are in bed, asleep, before I get home". She grinned, and Chloe nodded.

"Chinese food, ice cream, popcorn, bed". Chloe grinned. "Got it". She slung an arm around Beca, plopping a kiss to the side of her head. "Go out, have fun. Don't worry about a thing, I've got it sorted!"

"Thanks Chlo!"

"Have fun!"

Beca grinned, pulling the front door shut behind her. She could always count on Chloe, whether she wanted to or not.

Chloe grinned on the other side of the front door, before turning to her three goddaughters. "Alright, I'll get some ice cream dished into bowls and then we'll start a movie! I'll even make popcorn".

A cheer erupted from the three girls and Chloe laughed. She was their fun aunt.

\-----------------

"Hey Benji!" Jesse said cheerfully, opening the door and bracing himself for the footsteps that would no doubt shove him out of the way.

"Uncle Benji!" Brody was the first one to make an appearance, and Benji laughed, catching the four year old in his arms.

"Hey man!" he greeted. "Ready to have some fun tonight?"

"Yeah!"

"Hi Uncle Benji!"

"Hey Uncle Benji!"

"Alright, they've eaten dinner- there's leftover spaghetti bolognese in the fridge if you want some", Jesse offered, "And I've popped a bowl of popcorn and they're sitting down to watch Peter Pan. You can make them more popcorn if you want, but no more ice cream, they had enough today already. They need to brush their teeth and go to bed as soon as this movie is over- do you hear me, Benjamin?"

"Yes Daddy". Ben refrained from rolling his eyes, grinning up at his beloved namesake.

"Is there anything else?" Jesse asked, mentally ticking off his list of things he needed to address. "You know where everything is, if there's an issue call me straight away-Ben, you'll help out, won't you?"

"Yep".

"No, that's all". Benji all but pushed him towards the door. "I know the drill, chill out! We'll be fine. You just go and have some fun, alright?"

"Thanks, man".

"Don't mention it. Just have fun". Benji grinned and Jesse rolled his eyes.

"Be good, boys!"

"We will!" he could hear the grin on Dean's face and Jesse frowned.

"Whatever you're thinking of doing, don't! I love you!"

"Love you too!" Brody called brightly.

Once Jesse was out of sight, Benji went into the kitchen, pulling the tub of ice cream from the freezer. "Who wants ice cream while we're waiting for the popcorn to pop?"

The boys whooped excitedly and Benji pumped his fist into the air, because he had essentially won the fun uncle of the year award.

\--------------------

Beca stepped through the doors of the little hole in the wall karaoke bar that Chloe and Aubrey had first brought her to when she and the girls first moved away from Luke. It was small and the atmosphere was great, and Beca almost always enjoyed herself (there were exceptions- like Fat Amy plucking her off her stool, carrying her over her shoulder and forcing her to sing the Spice Girls 'Wannabe'. That was a night she pretended didn't happen, but yet Chloe kept bringing it up).

Sliding onto a stool and ordering herself a drink, she glanced around the room, taking in the scenery. The usuals were gathered in the corner (the old men who, despite looking a little rough around the edges, were the first to check how she, Chloe and Aubrey were getting home because they were genuine gentlemen), while the obvious college kids were slumped over the pool tables, laughing.

Beca sipped at her drink and closed her eyes, sighing contently at the thought of a proper night out. Her girls were her entire world, but as much as she loved them, the occasional night out she had without them allowed her to turn her brain off completely, without a worry. Glancing around the bar, her eyes fell on a dark haired man, a beer sitting in front of him. Colour rushed to her cheeks, and she'd have to be a total idiot to say he wasn't hot.

 

The little hole in the wall karaoke bar had been Jesse's favourite place to hang out ever since they moved. It was the perfect place to get away and escape from the realities that faced him every day, and one of Jesse's favourite places in the whole town.

So he took a seat at the bar, downing three beers in quick succession (because it wasn't often that he had a kid free, friend free night out- Benji and Donald and the others insisted that he needed a babysitter and had accompanied him everywhere he went since Katherine died) before glancing around. His eyes fell on a brunette with curls falling into her face, but not enough to hide her face. She was beautiful. And Jesse felt blood rush to his cheeks, as he took another swig of his beer.

Donald and Benji had told him to have fun, and what was wrong with a little flirting?

\-------------------------

"Can I buy you a drink?" Jesse approached the petite brunette, feeling a rush of confidence that was no doubt the alcohol pulsing around his system.

"No thank you", Beca said politely, fiddling with a straw.

"Come on, I think you need to get on this level".

After an awkward pause, Beca shrugged, giving in. "that'd be great".

As Jesse handed her a drink, he grinned. "That earspike is amazingly scary".

She snorted (very ladylike, she had to reprimand herself) appreciatively. "Thanks".

He took a swig of his beer, settling down onto the bar stool. "So what's your deal?" he said confidently (he was so going to regret this, he knew it). "are you one of those girls that's all mysterious and dark and then she takes off her glasses and you realise she was beautiful the whole time?"

"I don't wear glasses". She frowned slightly, her cheeks turning pink.

He shrugged. "Then you're halfway there".

Blood rushed to Beca's cheek, and she took a long sip of her drink.

"Do you want to sing?" he said suddenly (wondering where he was going with it- he hadn't sang with anyone since he was in college). "I mean, we're at a karaoke bar-"

"Sorry, I don't even sing".

"I bet you do", he told her, a grin on his face (he had always been one to push the boundaries, he admitted). "I bet you were one of those aca pella girls in college".

(How had he had her pinned already? She had been one of those aca pella girls in college- much to her disgust, Chloe had hauled her into it and she had found herself actually liking it.)

"You were definitely one of those aca pella boys", she shot back (was she flirting? She hadn't flirted since she had first met Luke, and the whole concept was foreign to her).

"Sing". And he reached out to grab her hand (when she flinched he retreated, even he knew his boundaries), holding out his for her to take. She didn't, but she climbed down from the bar stool (she was so short. Adorably short, but hot. How did she even manage to pull that off?), following him towards the karaoke corner.

She couldn't believe she was doing it. But he was the first guy to approach her in a long time, and if she was honest, he wasn't bad to look at. It was harmless, she assured herself, because the chances of her seeing him again after that night were slim.

She had to roll her eyes, though, when she saw the song he selected. 'Summer Nights' from the classic Grease, which Aubrey had forced her and the rest of their aca pella group to watch during one of their infamous sleepovers in her freshman year (because Aubrey wanted them to bond and apparently a sleepover was the only way to do that), despite Beca's hate for films.

"Summer lovin' had me a blast", he sang, and Beca bit back a smile, because that boy could sing.

"Summer lovin' happened so fast", she sang in return, and his eyes widened.

"You can sing!" he said in surprise. "I met a girl crazy for me!"

"Met a boy cute as can be".

"Summer days driftin' away, to uh-oh those summer nights!"

Jesse had to admit that he flirted shamelessly with the tiny brunette during the duration of their song. And Beca, keeping a smile firmly off her face, flirted back.

"It turned colder - that's where it ends", Beca sang gently, as Jesse dramatically threw his hands in the air, holding his last note.

"So I told her we'd still be friends".

"Then we made our true love vow".

"Wonder what she's doing now?"

"Summer dreams ripped at the seams, bu-ut oh, those su-ummer nights!" they both held the last note, the rest of the bar erupting in cheers (because it was rare that they got two peole that could actually sing in the doors of that place).

Grinning, they took their seats again, Jesse's eyes twinkling.

"You were one of those aca pella girls", he accused.

"You were definitely an aca pella boy". Beca rolled her eyes playfully and Jesse laughed.

"I'm Jesse". Jesse held out his hand and Beca took it gingerly.

"Beca".


	4. Chapter 4

Beca slid the key into the front door, pushing it open quietly. The house was dark apart from the living room, where the soft light of the lamp shone. Slipping off her shoes and closing the front door, Beca advanced through the room to find Finding Nemo (Chloe's favourite movie) still playing on the television, all four girls passed out asleep.

"Typical", Beca said, shaking her head in amusement.

"I'm not asleep", Chloe mumbled, as Courtney snored softly on her chest. "I just don't want to move in case I wake them up".

"Please, they're like their mother, they can sleep through anything". Beca moved towards Chloe, lifting the sleeping three year old off her chest. "Thanks so much for tonight, Chloe. How were they?"

"Really good- we had a great time". Chloe grinned at her, pointing to the almost empty bowl of popcorn on the coffee table. "They had a snack and fell asleep watching Nemo with me".

(She didn't find it necessary to mention the ice cream they had had before the popcorn- Chloe had washed their bowls and destroyed all evidence.)

Beca cradled Courtney against her chest, as she carried her towards her bedroom, Chloe following cheerfully.

"How was your night?"

"I swear to God, you're worse than Fat Amy. How did she find out, anyway?"

"Stacie told her". Chloe shrugged, and Beca rolled her eyes.

"Don't you people have anything better to do than discuss my lack of a social life?"

"Not really, no". Chloe shrugged, as she tugged back Courtney's blankets for the tiny brunette. "Bec, what's with that smile? I haven't seen that since we were at college".

"Nothing".

"Beca?"

"What?" she lay Courtney down in her bed, pulling up her blankets and kissing her forehead gently.

"You met someone!" Chloe's eyes were bright, as she looked at her friend in excitement. "Aw, Bec! What's his name?"

"Chloe!" Beca hissed, as she hauled the redhead into the hallway. "That squeal will wake her up, so shut the hell up"

"You aren't even denying it!" Chloe squealed again. "Aw, Beca! See, I told you a night out would be good for you!"

"I didn't meet anyone", Beca protested, denying Chloe the knowledge of Jesse's number saved in her phone. "Will you just chill?"

"Just tell me his name, Bec".

"He bought me a drink, we sang-"

"You sang? I had to physically drag you onto the stage! And some guy comes along and talks you into singing? Must be something special", she teased, and Beca's face turned the same colour as Chloe's hair. Ignoring her friend, she moved back into the living room to pick up Natalie.

"I blame the alcohol".

"Please, you don't sing even when you're drunk". Chloe rolled her eyes. "I should know, I've hauled your drunken ass up the stairs-"

"God, you make me sound like an alcoholic or something". Beca shook her head, as Natalie draped her arms around her mother in her sleep. "Don't wake her up; if she's up she'll never go back down".

Chloe picked up Rosie, the seven year old siting limply in her godmother's arms. "I'll take Rosie to bed and then I want to hear everything".

"Chlo, it's late", Beca protested.

"I don't care".

Once both girls were tucked into their bed, still asleep, Chloe marched Beca onto the lounge, turning to her and crossing her legs in anticipation. "I just want to know his name, Beca Mitchell; you aren't going to bed without telling me".

Beca rolled her eyes at her persistence. "Jesse".

"Jesse what?"

"No, I'm not telling you". She frowned (because Beca knew that if Chloe knew his last name, she would do everything she could to stalk him to the death. Beca knew Chloe well, and she was not going to let that happen to the first guy she had liked since she was in college).

"But Bec-ca!"

Beca just grinned, reaching for the almost empty bowl of popcorn. "How was the movie, Chloe?"

Chloe didn't push it (because Beca's walls could go up like a roller door at any moment and even she knew when to stop). "It was good. Courtney loves it"

"Of course she does, its Aunt Chloe's favourite". Beca smiled. "I'm glad my girls have you, Chlo. They love you".

"So do you".

"Yeah, I do to". Beca grinned and Chloe rested her head on the tiny brunette's shoulder.

"You're not going to tell me anymore?"

"Nope".

"Worth a try".

Beca chuckled, but she couldn't help the worry that niggled at the back of her mind. She and Jesse had talked for a while after their duet, but she hadn't mentioned her three girls. Because she knew she'd have absolutely no chance.

\-------------

Jesse shoved the front door open, and Benji stood up to greet him, moving away from the three sleeping boys that had never made it to their beds.

"Hey man, how was your night?" Benji greeted.

Jesse grinned. "Really good- thanks for looking after them, man. I owe you". Stepping into the living room, he sighed. "They fell asleep out here?"

Benji shrugged. "They fell asleep before I realised, we were watching a movie and eating popcorn".

(he chose to leave the mention of ice cream out, because he knew that Jesse would frown disapprovingly at him.)

"Ooh, which one?"

"Monsters Inc. again".

"Dean's favourite". Jesse grinned, as he lifted little Brody into his arms. Brody wrapped his arms around his neck and Jesse cradled the little boy gently, humming. "Shhh, don't wake up. Daddy's just going to tuck you into bed".

"What's that grin for?" Benji wanted to know. "Did you meet someone?"

"What?"

"Yeah, you haven't looked that happy since Katherine was around!" Benji grinned, as he hoisted Dean into his arms. "You met someone!"

"Benji-"

"What's her name?"

"Benji-"

"See, Donald and I were right", he said, as he followed Jesse down the hallway into the room that Dean and Brody shared. "You needed a night out, see? You had a night out and now you've met someone, and life is just amazing".

Jesse grinned, tucking Brody into bed and kissing his forehead. "Sleep tight buddy", he whispered, brushing his soft hair off his forehead. Straightening up, he grinned at Benji. "I bought her a drink and we sang- we went to the karaoke bar".

"You sang? It must be serious!" Benji's eyes twinkled and Jesse chuckled, heading back into the lounge room to grab Ben. "What did you sing?"

"'Summer Nights' from Grease". Jesse grinned, picking up Brody, as his eldest draped himself over him.

"Good Lord. Please tell me you have a date", Benji almost pleaded.

"I do not have a date, but we exchanged numbers". Jesse placed Ben in his bed, pulling up the covers and kissing his forehead. "Good night Ben. And I'm going to text her during the week".

"You like her". Benji grinned, and Jesse shrugged.

"She seems like a pretty cool girl. I didn't tell her about the boys, though".

Benji frowned slightly. "But Jesse-"

"I want to get to know her before I dump three boys on her", Jesse cut him off. "Thanks for looking after them tonight, Benji, I owe you one man".

"No worries- the boys were great and I am the coolest uncle ever".

"Don't let Donald hear you say that".

"Man, Donald knows it". Benji grinned, plucking up his backpack and heading towards the front door. "Let me know when you want to take her out on a date I'll look after them for you".

"Thanks, man". Jesse clapped Benji on the shoulder, grinning. "You're a good friend".

Farewelling his best friend, he locked the front door before sitting down on the lounge, flicking the television onto a movie channel. Grinning when he saw the Adam Sandler's classic The Wedding Singer, he settled back into the lounge.

He liked Beca, he really did. But he didn't know how much she would like the fact that he had three boys, no matter how cool she was.


	5. Chapter 5

Things were slightly awkward between Beca and Jesse after the Breakfast Club incident.

(Although Beca did do a quick IMDB search on the film and was bombarded by even more trivia than Jesse had thrown at her.)

But, in the short time that Beca had known Jesse, she had learnt that he bounced back quickly.

So she was not at all surprised when he plopped down, tossing a juice pouch at her.

(What was with the juice pouches? He carried them around like a child and found ways to slip them into her backpack.)

"These are like our thing now, aren't they?" he said brightly.

"No, it's not". She shook her head, easing her headphones off her ears.

"Can it be our thing?" he said brightly. "What are you listening to?"

(Apparently it was like conversing with Henry. Unless the four year old was talking about cars or trains, he jumped from topic to topic.)

"One of my mixes", she explained (why was she telling him this?). Offering him the headphones, she began to explain. "I just find beats that are the same and mesh them together".

"Wow, this is really good!"

He was talking really loud and it took everything she had to bite back a smile.

Taking off the headphones, h beamed at her. "That's amazing, Beca".

"Thanks", she said awkwardly.

(Apparently she had trouble accepting compliments. He'd have to change that.)

"How's Bellas practice?" he wanted to know.

(As if he hadn't heard the argument that had started at the breakfast table and continued the car ride to school. Jesse Swanson had ridiculously good hearing.)

"With the she-devil? Sorry, spawn of the she-devil? It's wonderful, I really enjoy it". She beamed sarcastically at him.

"And that's what I thought". He beamed right back. "So, are you preparing for the riff-off?"

Her face fell. "What the hell is a riff-off?"

\---------------

"Hey Bec-"Chloe's pleasant voice was cut off by the slam of the back door and Beca's pronounced scowl. "Oh. You didn't have a good day, then?"

"Seatbelt", Aubrey told her, and Beca stretched it across her chest before leaning forward.

"So, um… when were you going to tell me about the riff-off?" she demanded.

"Now, I am sure that I mentioned it".

"I beg to differ Aubrey Posen! Were you planning on telling me about it?"

"Of course!"

"And what if I had made plans on Friday night?"

(So she wasn't the most social of butterflies, but she might have made plans. Aubrey Posen shouldn't assume.)

"You committed to the Bellas, Beca".

"It's always fun, Beca", Chloe assured her. "It's a bit of aca pella fun".

"That's not happening".

\------------

"I can't believe this", Beca growled, as she wrapped a scarf around her neck. "It's Friday night and I'm actually going to a riff-off. What the hell is a riff-off?"

And, to make the evening even worse, it was turning into a family occasion. Apparently riff-offs at Barden High were as popular as football games. So her father and Sheila were chaperoning it, and the twins were coming to watch.

"Last year was fun, Beca", Hailey said as Beca climbed into the backseat. "The Bellas won, right Bree?"

"Of course the Bellas won!" Aubrey beamed at her (and if Beca made a snide comment about the finals, she'd punch her in the mouth).

"Let's do this!" Will said cheerfully, as he made himself comfortable in the driver's seat.

\---------------

"LADIES OF THE EIGHTIES!"

Beca was unsure what was going to happen, but seeing Jesse and Bumper Allen step forward and come out with 'Mickey' was absolutely not it.

And two songs later, when Chloe, Fat Amy and Aubrey started 'Hit Me with Your Best Shot', she was a little confused.

(Maybe this riff-off wouldn't be as bad as she thought.)

"So we just sing any song that works?" Beca checked with Chloe, "And we just go with it?"

"Yep!" the redhead smiled at her.

"SONGS ABOUT SEX!"

(Stacie's category. Her eyes lit up and Fat Amy rolled her eyes.)

"Songs about sex", Aubrey said quickly, and Cynthia Rose and Stacie ran forward.

Although not even Cynthia Rose could take on the Trebles. It seemed that the entire riff-off was between the Bellas and the Trebles (although Beca wasn't particularly interested in the aca Pella world, she knew that they were the biggest rivals).

So when Jesse stepped forward with 'It Feels like the First Time', Beca knew she'd have to step it up a notch. And when Jesse pointed playfully at her, she had to take him down (blowing him a sarcastic kiss in response).

"it's going down, fade to Blackstreet the homies got me collab' creations, bump like acne", she rapped, flicking him away. His eyes widened and she continued. "No doubt I put it down, never slouch, as long as my credit could vouch a dog couldn't catch me, straight up. Tell me who could stop when one making moves, attracting honeys like a magnet, giving 'em eargasms with my mellow accents. Still moving this flavour with my homies, Blackstreet and Teddy, the original rump shakers…" her voice trailed off, looking around helplessly at the girls for support.

"Keep going", Jesse told her.

So she did.

"Shorty get down good Lord", she sang, "Baby got them open up all over town-"

Fat Amy and Cynthia Rose came forward, beaming.

"Strictly biz she don't play around, cover much ground, got game by the pound!"

It was the first time that their group had actually 'clicked'. They were listening to each other and playing off what others sang, and it worked.

But apparently the Bellas working together wasn't enough. Because they were…

"CUT OFF!"

"I never heard that rule!" Aubrey protested loudly.

But that wasn't enough.

"Alright, before everyone goes to bed tonight, I want you to make a list of everything you did wrong", Aubrey informed them, an Beca stared at her incredulously.

"What we just did was great, right?"

Chloe smiled at her encouragingly.

"We were actually listening-"

"Calm your pits, Beca", she snapped. "We still lost".

Beca sighed, her shoulders deflating as Aubrey marched away.

(She thought that she had done something right. Apparently not.)

\-------------

That night, when Beca had tucked herself into bed, there was a knock at her door.

"Yes?" she said in surprise.

"I hope you're working on your list", Aubrey told her, poking her head into the room. Ad sensing that her stepsister was going to toss a pillow (or a rock) at her she made a hasty escape.

"She's actually insane", Beca voiced. "She's actually batshit crazy".


End file.
